How to Quit Your Job

You’re ready to move on and it’s time to bring the news to your boss. What’s the correct protocol to hit the right note?

Dear employees,

I decided to start looking for a new job, but I have one burning question. My immediate supervisor works in a different part of the state than I do, and I see him about once a month due to travel time.

When I get a new position, if I have seen my boss during this month, what is the best way to handle the notification? Can I send my letter of resignation through the office or email acceptable?

In fact, I suspect the phone is best.

To explain why, I need to look more broadly at the abandonment of propriety. Your dilemma concerns basic questions that need to be addressed in a wide variety of situations when you need to quit smoking.

Think ahead

First, what kind of relationship with this employer do you prefer in the future? If you walk away in a rage about mistreatment and humiliatingly poor management and hope to never cross paths with any of these pathetic bastards again, then of course send an email. And try to refrain from breaking office equipment during the assault.

But even then, keep in mind that one day you may run into one of these pathetic bastards, whether you like it or not. This is why I’m not a fan of vile goodbye resignations. As cleansing as this genre is, it will likely have no impact and risk labeling you as displeased.

It doesn’t look like you have some kind of ax to shut up. So if you are clearly looking forward to a good recommendation from that boss / employer in the future, it’s best to treat the process as respectfully as possible.

In general, I’d say personal notice is more respectful than over the phone, over the phone is more respectful than a letter, a letter is more respectful than an email, and please don’t post a resignation. It is possible that some kind of video call option will fit somewhere here, but if this is really not a common part of corporate culture, I would skip it; it is too fussy process. ( Note : There may be time-dependent exceptions to this rating; see below.)

Finally, consider if you are really open to, for example, a counter offer from your current employer. If so, you are definitely better off delivering the news orally.

Timing is everything

Another important factor in your situation has more to do with when rather than how. In every case I can think of, management will want to know as soon as possible that you are leaving so they can handle your replacement.

And if that situation were changed, wouldn’t that be your top priority? I once had a client from out of town who waited until I paid my annual personal visit to announce that my contract was being terminated – a decision they made at least a month earlier. They seemed very proud of themselves for bravely breaking it to me personally. I would prefer to find out earlier in any convenient way.

So, as you suggest, you certainly don’t want to wait for this manager to visit you again. But a phone call is both personal and more or less immediate. If you wish, you can also submit a formal resignation letter and inform your boss that it came by internal mail. But if your company doesn’t have a policy on this, this letter is more for you than for your employer. So just stick to the relevant facts and be short.

There is, of course, one caveat here: while your employer wants to be notified as much as possible, you may prefer a shorter deadline for your own reasons. I’ll cover this issue below. But this basic structure should guide you whether you are adhering to the strict two weeks or giving additional notice.

Update: notice and dismissal

A few weeks ago, when I answered a question from a person who reported two months’ notice and was promptly fired, there was some scuffle in the comments .

“Why would you give 60 days notice at all?” – one reader demanded an answer. “Two weeks is the industry standard for professionals and non-professionals. If I were an employer, I would ask an employee why. Are they only half serious about quitting smoking? “

This is a reasonable question! And several points of view have been suggested in the comments, from suggesting that sometimes such professional courtesy is appropriate to insisting that it’s insane to give anything beyond minimum notice, as this is how your employer is likely to treat you in the opposite situation: “The company won’t notify you 60 seconds in advance when you get smaller, farther to the right, or larger,” as another reader put it .

I tend to lean towards the latter: keep to the minimum. When employees pay too much attention, it is often because they overestimate their need and underestimate how unpleasant a prolonged goodbye can be. Let go and move on.

However, the reader who posted this question left me a line after reading the comments. “I am a doctor of a rare medical specialty,” she explained, “and 60 days notice is considered the standard” in this area. Fair. It is generally recommended to stick to the standard procedure, no more and no less.

Meanwhile, she also had an update on her general situation (which included the dispute over unemployment benefits). “I started my new job on April 1 and I am very happy with my new circumstances,” she says. “I prefer to just let go of the unemployment situation and move forward with a clear head.”

I always recommend spending more effort on fixing the future rather than dwelling on the injustices of the past. It sounds like a happy ending to me!

Send yourwork questions tohumanresource@lifehacker.com . Questions can be edited for added volume and clarity.